(from DaimlerChrysler
Press Release) For the 1990 racing season, Mercedes-Benz
teamed up with Sauber to create the C 111 Group C car. The results
were spectacular: the team became world champions.

Even that was not enough
to satisfy our engineers however. They wanted to look for ways to
test active systems for controlling vehicle dynamics before
introducing them on production models – and so the high-performance
C 112 sports car was born. Powered by a 6.0-litre V12 engine, it
developed 300 kW (408 hp) and peak torque of 580 Nm. To ensure its
huge power could be used with maximum active safety, the engineers
delved deep in their box of tricks and came up with a range of
electronic systems.

One such system was
Active Body Control (ABC), which made its debut on the C 112. ABC
features a combination of springs and hydraulics at each wheel, plus
sensors that monitor the vehicle’s movements. A computer then
assesses the data collected via the sensors and adjusts the active
suspension elements accordingly. The result is ride stability the
likes of which had never been seen before.

In addition, the C 112
was fitted with active rear steering. This allowed the car to
compensate if the wheels were knocked off course by external
influences such as surface imperfections, side winds, or road
surfaces with varying levels of grip. Latest-generation anti-locking
braking (ABS) and anti-skid control systems completed the picture.

No less exciting was the
car’s styling: the spoiler and wing were infinitely adjustable and
could thus be adapted to the driving situation to ensure the optimum
combination of low drag and high downforce. The rear wing could also
be extended instantly in high-speed cornering and under emergency
braking. For optimum stopping power, the braking system
automatically split the braking pressure between the front and rear
wheels.

It was not just in its
ability to offer controllable high-performance motoring that the C
112 was a precursor to the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren however. It
also had the gullwing doors first seen on the legendary 300 SL and
recently revived on the SLR.